Don’t miss the holiday-giving event of the season! At the Discovery Center’s annual Giving Marketplace, you can support a good cause while shopping for everyone on your list.
Find unique gifts from dozens of vendors with the proceeds supporting immigrants and refugees, women and girls, global health, education, the environment, and much more. Enjoy family-friendly holiday activities and performances, then discover ways to take action on issues you care about.
Performances and activities
LIVE MUSIC
Friday | 11- 12 p.m. & 1 – 2 p.m.
Kenyan American singer-songwriter, Naomi Wachira, is known for her soulful and powerful vocals, poignant lyrics, and captivating live performances.
Saturday | 11 a.m. – 1 p.m.
Mountlake Terrace High School Jazz Quartet will perform again this year!
Saturday | 2 – 4 p.m.
Brazilian guitar musician, Marco de Carvalho. Marco is from Rio de Janeiro and graduated from the prestigious Music Conservatory of Rio de Janeiro under Juarez Carvalho and Sergio Vale.
PORTRAIT PAINTING
Friday | 10 a.m. – 2 p.m.
Artist and illustrator based in the Pacific Northwest, Michelle Lassaline from You as an Animal. Michelle paints portraits of people as any animal they choose using watercolor and ink. Each portrait takes just 5 minutes and will be free!
ORNAMENT & JEWELRY MAKING
Friday & Saturday | 10 a.m. – 5 p.m.
Feeling crafty? Try your hand at ornament and jewelry making with artist Lilia Deering. Walk away with lightweight miniature animals dangling from your ears, or a nature-themed diorama to hang in your home!
WREATH MAKING
Saturday | 11 a.m. – 2 p.m.
Create your own floral wreath out of foraged and gleaned materials. Jess Cheng will show you how to transform dried flowers and invasive plant matter into a fully biodegradable mini-wreath to decorate your home.
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Artist, Michelle Lassaline creating “You as an animal” portraits, -
Hear musician Naomi Wachira perform. -
Visit artist Michelle Lassaline, as she creates “You as an animal” portraits. -
Try your hand at wreath making with artist Jess Chen.
Meet our 2023 Vendors
Please note: This site features links to third-party websites and e-commerce sites that are not affiliated with the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. The Gates Foundation does not endorse any of the products or vendors featured nor is the Gates Foundation responsible for any actions once you leave this site.
Apparel & Accessories
African Print Takeover
African Print Takeover hosts cultural awareness fashion shows and events, providing community education of the influence of African culture and offering handmade accessories from across the continent.
Food & Beverage
Ajiri Tea Company
Ajiri Tea Company creates jobs for Kenyan women by hiring them to craft unique tea labels from banana tree bark. All profits go to support school fees for orphans in Western Kenya.
Apparel & Accessories
Awamaki
Awamaki collaborates with Quechua artisans in Peru, creating programs to grow women-led cooperatives through heritage textiles, market access, and sustainable tourism.
Stationary & Greeting Cards
BaMatooke Made
BaMatooke Made creates biodegradable greeting cards to promote sustainable and lasting change in the lives of women and vulnerable children in Uganda. Each purchase funds small businesses and academic scholarships.
Food & Beverage
Black Coffee Northwest
Black Coffee Northwest, a black-owned business, aims to create a welcoming space where people can express themselves. They offer workshops and afterschool programs including study sessions, internships, mental health counseling, and a Podcast and Instrumentals room for learning to play music.
Books
Friends of the Seattle Public Library
Founded in 1941, The Friends of The Seattle Public Library have continuously evolved to support a world-class, inclusive library system by sponsoring diverse programs, enhancing facilities, providing volunteers, and collaborating with other civic groups.
Gifts
Friends of WPC Nepal
Friends of Women’s Protection Center (WPC) Nepal seeks to prevent human trafficking as well as protect and empower at-risk women and children through awareness programs, education scholarships, job training and the Safe Home.
Art
Hawo Arts
Hawo Ali is a Seattle artist who immigrated to the Northwest from Somalia 22 years ago. As a working artist and an avid collector of Somalian cultural artifacts for many years, her dream is to open a Somali Museum in Seattle.
Art
Path with Art
Path with Art fosters the restoration of individuals, groups, and society from the effects of trauma, through arts engagement and community building.
Food & Beverage
Poverty Bay Coffee Company
Poverty Bay Coffee Company is fully committed to sustainable coffee farming, offering fair prices to farmers and partnering with responsible importers. Poverty Bay’s commitment to quality and integrity benefits both farmers and the environment.
Apparel & Accessories
Radical Grandma Collective
Radical Grandma Collective is an international and intergenerational solidarity effort supporting environmental justice activists in Northeast Thailand.
Gifts & Accessories
Refugee Artisan Initiative
Refugee Artisan Initiative empowers refugee and immigrant women with artisan skills training and micro-business development for a successful transition to the US. Expect to see upcycled ornaments, jewelry, kitchen goods, coffee burlap items, and messenger bags made from recycled materials.
Apparel & Gifts
Sacred Circle Gifts and Art
The Daybreak Star Indian Cultural Center is a hub for Native communities and supporters worldwide. It features a permanent Native art collection, the Sacred Circle Gallery with contemporary Native art exhibits, a gift shop, and hosts the annual Seattle Powwow and Indigenous People’s Day celebrations.
Gifts & Accessories
Seattle Fair Trade
Seattle Fair Trade has been a part of the Seattle community for decades. Their mission has always been clear: to support Fair Trade and artisans around the world, especially those in developing countries.
Food & Beverage
Seeking Ferments
Seeking Ferments is a pioneering force in the world of mindful nourishment. Driven by a passion for community empowerment and sustainability, they have embarked on a mission to transform the way we enjoy beverages. Crafting an array of gut healthy fermented drinks such as kombucha, tepache, switchels, and more.
Gifts & Toys
Snow Leopard Trust
Snow Leopard Trust works to understand and protect the endangered snow leopard, in partnership with local communities. You can support their work by making a symbolic adoption or buying handmade wool ornaments and gifts crafted by women living in the snow leopard range.
Gifts
Spír Candle Co
Spír Candle Company hires underrepresented youth, especially those with a history of incarceration, to create their candles, offering jobs, mentorship, and empowerment. When you purchase their candles, you’re investing in these young individuals — and yourself.
Apparel
TASWIRA
TASWIRA started in 2022 as a cultural gallery with unconventional roots. It was created with the idea of creating solutions to fundraise for a women’s center in Mombasa, Kenya. TASWIRA evolved from selling handcrafted items to a physical gallery in Pioneer Square, showcasing modern African and Black American artists alongside historical antiques.
Food & Beverage
The Pastry Project
The Pastry Project is a women-owned social enterprise offering a free baking and pastry training program to those facing employment barriers. The program is funded with pastry kit subscriptions, delivering monthly baking boxes to your doorstep.
Gifts
Tilth Alliance
Tilth Alliance collaborates with Washington’s farming and gardening communities to build a sustainable and equitable food future. Tilth Alliance focuses on organic and regenerative practices, using farms, gardens, and kitchens as inclusive classrooms to cultivate ecologically sound, economically viable, and culturally appropriate food practices.
Gifts & Accessories
UKUSH Handmade
UKUSH Handmade is a woman-owned fairtrade company specializing in hand-dyed and handwoven accessories from Guatemala. We work directly with Mayan women weavers to design high-quality products from natural fibers. This partnership supports both the use of traditional Mayan tools, such as back-strap looms, and the creation of contemporary items for the US market.
Gifts
Unkitawa
Unkitawa is an Indigenous nonprofit established to provide access to traditional healing through culture, arts, and ceremony. The organization offers dedicated programs for veterans, innovation, women’s wellness, reentry, and two youth internship programs focusing on traditional medicines and traditional knowledge seekers.
Gifts & Accessories
Ventures Marketplace
Ventures provides a comprehensive toolbox of resources to equip low-income entrepreneurs to build bridges out of poverty by launching their own small businesses.
Food & Beverage
Water1st
Water1st builds community-scale projects consisting of household-level piped water systems and hygienic toilets, which end the walk for water for women and girls, improve health, and create opportunities for education and employment.
Food & Beverage
Water From Wine
Water from Wine is a nonprofit organization that operates a vineyard and winery in Washington state and donates revenue to organizations working to ensure that communities around the world have consistent access to clean water.
Gifts
Wing Luke Museum of Asian Pacific American Experience
Wing Luke Museum’s mission is to advance racial and social equity by connecting people to the history, cultures, and art of Asian Americans, Native Hawaiians, and Pacific Islanders. Their Marketplace sources from over 100 small businesses to support the museum’s exhibitions and youth programs
Apparel & Accessories
Zuri
Zuri is an ethical fashion brand dedicated to developing textiles across the continent and partnering with ethical manufacturers in Kenya. Their mission is to provide versatile clothing options for women while fostering job creation for a sustainable economic future in East Africa
Gifts & Accessories
Tizana Mexico
Tizana Mexicana’s mission revolves around empowering lives through Mexican artistry. Their offerings encompass a carefully curated collection of products, including jewelry, accessories, apparel, and home decor, which are delivered directly to your doorstep. We source directly from local artisans, eliminating the barriers to acquiring high-quality artisanal products.
Gifts
International Rescue Commission, Seattle
IRC is a non-profit refugee resettlement agency. In our Seattle office, we welcome refugees and help them rebuild their lives in WA State. In 2022, the IRC Seattle started a sewing program called New Americans Artisan Collective to promote empowerment for Afghan women through handicrafts.